The Age of the Greeks
by Emmeebee
Summary: In the midst of war, stakes run dangerously high, amplifying tensions and destroying lives. A collection of five poems depicting characters through the lens of Greek mythology written for the Poetry Collection Competition. Characters in order: Sybill Trelawney, Bellatrix Lestrange, George Weasley, Molly Weasley, Ariana Dumbledore
1. Sybill, the modern Cassandra

Oh, Sybill, the modern Cassandra,  
blessed with Sight  
but cursed to be doubted.  
Her sagacity is veiled in farce  
and the taste of firewhiskey.  
Who was her Apollo?  
Was it magic itself  
that made her a prophet  
only to balance the tables  
by rendering her a fool?  
Or was it the burden of sight  
that tortured her mind  
and led her to drink  
until no one believed her?

Oh, Sybill, the modern Cassandra,  
whose eyes see truth  
while the world hears lies.  
She is trapped in the fallout  
with no hope of escape.  
Who will her Clytemnestra be?  
Will it be nature,  
as it gently reclaims her  
and eases her load  
after a long, tortured life?  
Or will she leave the castle  
and its safety behind,  
only to be misused  
because of her Sight?

Oh, Sybill, the modern Cassandra,  
half in the present  
and half in the future.  
When at last her time comes,  
her burden will lift.  
What will her Elysian Fields be?  
Will she be cleansed  
of the bad and the good  
and be given her peace  
in belated acceptance?  
Or will it be the others  
who change and grow  
until they can see  
that _she_ can See?

* * *

A/N: Thank you to my fantastic and overworked brother Kaayvan for making the time to beta this collection for me.


	2. Nyx of the Blacks

With hair as black as night  
and a soul that's even darker,  
Bellatrix wears her wickedness  
with indifferent ease.

Like Nyx,  
the daughter of Chaos  
who mated with Darkness  
and is the mother of Death,  
she births Destruction and Strife  
and unleashes them on the world.

She amasses few cults;  
instead, she cleaves herself to others,  
earning her fearsome place  
at Voldemort's right hand.  
Yet her primordial power terrifies  
even the fiercest of foes;  
Zeus himself would not face her.

For she is Bellatrix  
of the House of Black:  
the warrior of the night,  
and the enemy of the day.


	3. Castor and Pollux

How he wishes he were Pollux,  
so that, when his brother fell,  
he could have split his life  
to share with him  
as twin stars, cast up high,  
forever to shine their radiant light:  
born together, transformed together,  
never to face a day apart.

But the mirth drains from his heart like blood  
as his miseries begin to accrue.

The one goes on without the other,  
abandoned in eternal night,  
because he won the war  
but lost his heart  
the moment his twin died.  
His existence alone is bare of all:  
no light, no joy, no smiles, no hope,  
not until his own day comes.

For he is no immortal, and his father no god,  
and they are riven in two.


	4. Unlike Demeter

Spells flash and burst around her  
in a kaleidoscope of brilliant colour  
that twists  
and dies  
and flares anew.  
Shouts sound in a melancholy song  
as the desperate battle rages on.

Death accumulates like common dust;  
no matter how many times it goes away,  
it always comes back around again.  
It's everywhere,  
unstoppable,  
unrelenting.  
Too many have been consumed before,  
but now – _No more._

 _Not on her watch._

For a cackle alerts her  
to imminent danger,  
and she runs  
– _runs_ –  
to her daughter.

Unlike Demeter, she will not fail her;  
she will _not, not, not  
_ let Ginny eat the fruit of death  
that would bind her to the underworld.


	5. The Portrait of Ariadne

Her death is shrouded in a fierce mystery  
that not a soul can answer,  
but Dionysus raises her from Hades  
so her likeness may live forever.

Now, she guards the passage entrance  
as she awaits those who were chosen,  
so she can lead them through the maze  
to make a sacrifice most Ambrosian.

One day, a noble saviour doth arrive  
on the island's rolling shore,  
with the aim of slaying the loathsome beast  
and ending trials forevermore.

She guides him through the labyrinth  
to complete his dreadful task;  
like a portrait of young Ariadne,  
Ariana shepherds him through the dark.

* * *

A/N: Thank you again to my wonderful brother Kaayvan for betaing these poems for me.


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